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Monday, December 23, 2013

United States v. Brito case brief

United States v. Brito case brief summary
907 F.2d 392 (1990)

CASE SYNOPSIS

Defendants appealed the judgments
entered by the United States District Court for the Southern District
of New York, which were entered after they were convicted of various
narcotics-related offenses, because they claimed a misuse of the
grand jury process by the prosecution. They also questioned the
sufficiency of the evidence and the instructions given by the trial
court.

CASE FACTSDefendants were convicted of various
narcotics-related offenses. They appealed the trial court's judgments
against them, which were affirmed. On appeal, defendants maintained
that the prosecution had misused the grand jury process and that the
reversal of their convictions was warranted as a result.

DISCUSSION

The court
noted that it could, pursuant to its supervisory power, dismiss an
indictment for prosecutorial misconduct if the grand jury was misled
or misinformed.

It also noted that the prosecution routinely
presented only a single witness, who was not always that familiar
with the investigation, to the grand jury.

While a casual attitude
with regard to the presentation of evidence before the grand jury
might have been exhibited by the prosecution, the court concluded
that the dismissal of the indictments against defendants was not
warranted.

The court also found that the grand jury was not used for
the purpose of preparing the case against defendants and that the
"conscious avoidance" instruction given by the trial court
tracked language previously approved by the court.

Finally, there was
sufficient evidence for defendants' convictions.

CONCLUSION
The court affirmed the trial court's judgments, which were entered
after defendants were convicted of various narcotics-related
offenses, because it found that the possible misuse of the grand jury
process by the prosecution, while troubling, failed to warrant the
reversal of their convictions. The court also found that the evidence
was sufficient to support the convictions and that a proper
"conscious avoidance" charge was given.Suggested law school study materials
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